Happy ornaments! Submissions for our Best Ornament Contest 2016 have closed and voting has begun. We received over 55 awesome DIY ornament tutorials ranging everywhere from paper crafting to recycled craft ideas and more. Check out all of the awesome entries here.

Let’s talk about voting!

We’re doing voting a little differently this year! Historically, we set up voting pages where fans of FaveCrafts could click a vote button to select his or her favorite projects. This year, we’re judging the contest based on . . . page views!

That’s right: the more people that click on your project, the better! As people scroll through the entries and click on their favorite projects, those clicks count as votes toward those ornaments. It truly is a popularity contest in that sense!

At the end of the contest, we’ll look at our analytics to determine which ten projects earned the most page views. Prizes are as follows:

One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive the following:

$250 Amazon Gift Card

Featured ornament on the cover of the Best Ornaments 2016 eBook

Newsletter mention

One (1) Second Prize Winner will receive the following:

$100 Amazon Gift Card

One (1) Third Prize Winner will receive the following:

$50 Amazon Gift Card

The top ten ornaments will also appear in an exclusive Best Ornaments 2016 free eBook, which will be available for download on FaveCrafts.com. Crafts featured in the eBook will include a direct link to the blogger’s website.

DIY ornaments are some of the best Christmas crafts. They’re small, fun for the whole family, and there are about a million different ways you can make them.

Here at FaveCrafts, we’re always looking for awesome new projects to add to the site. This time of year, ornaments are on the mind. As a fun opportunity, we’re asking readers and bloggers alike to submit your very own DIY ornament tutorial to FaveCrafts! The best part?

Your ornament tutorial can be worth $250!

Head on over to FaveCrafts to submit your ornament, and you’ll be eligible to win a $250 Amazon gift card!

About Our Ornament Contest:

All entries in this contest must be original creations, but you can republish a project from your blog.

Your project will be posted in full on FaveCrafts.com.

Winners will be selected based on popularity of the project.

The top ten ornaments will also appear in an exclusive Best Ornaments 2016 free eBook, which will be available for download on FaveCrafts.com, Amazon, and the Apple Store. Crafts featured in the eBook will include a direct link to the blogger’s website.

The deadline to enter is November 10, 2016 at Midnight Central Time.

Once your project is added to the site, be sure to help promote it any way you can on social media, on your blog, in email newsletters, etc. The more page views each project receives, the better your chances are at winning!

I’ve recently just unpacked the last box after moving into my first home. Once everything was settled, I immediately set to work decorating. I quickly learned that decorating can be very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. By taking inexpensive items from a home store like Ikea, you can quickly embellish them to create a high end look on a bachelor’s budget with some easy DIY home decor ideas. My favorite way to jazz up something simple is with Stencil Ease stencils. Watch the video below to see how simple this can be.

One of our favorite projects in the eBook is the Parisian Ikea Table. It is a great way to add your own personalized touch to a simple white side table. Using just a stencil and some paint, you can easily transform the look of any piece of furniture. Stencil Ease’s Parisian Medallion All-Over Painting Stencil features a classic french scroll medallion pattern that will bring a beautiful and elegant touch to any item.

{BONUS GIVEAWAY!}

Stencil Ease Home Decor Grand Prize GiveawayEnter to win the Stencil Ease Home Decor Grand Prize Giveaway values at $110! Prize includes everything you will need to complete the Parisian Ikea Table Project. The deadline to enter is June 30, 2015 at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern time. Click the picture to the left to find our official giveaway page and enter today!

What have you stenciled recently?

Do you love bling? I love bling. Rhinestones everywhere! That’s why I’m absolutely in love with the Marvy Uchida Easy Crystal Applicator. It’s the perfect way to bling out just about anything!

Whether you want to freshen up your handmade cards, party invitations, or scrapbook layouts and decorations, this handheld tool makes it easy to add bling to your paper crafts. Give your projects an instant makeover with the Swarovski crystals that come with this applicator. Though they are only 3/16 inches wide, these embellishments feature Swarovski’s trademark shine. Small elements work well for monograms and detailed designs like flowers and stars. Every applicator set includes a refill strip with 21 crystals, so bring on the bling! Marvy Uchida carries a selection of gorgeous colors including aurore boreale, amethyst, citrine, crystal, emerald, jet black, rose, sapphire.

Today is America Recycles Day! And what better way to celebrate than by crafting with recyclable items?

Today we are celebrating your creativity and helping keep America clean. So even if you hubby thinks your crazy for keeping a bag of toilet paper rolls, just know that we here at FaveCrafts applaud you and encourage you to keep crafting with recycled materials.

Each hour on Facebook we are featuring a recycled project today. So yes, that means 24 posts today! You can join us on Facebook RIGHT NOW to see all of the fun!

Another way to keep things out of landfills is to repair instead of toss. Our favorite way? Krazy Glue! I’m serious when I say this stuff is truly the best when it comes to crafting and fixing up your house.

Check out these awesome projects that use Krazy Glue!

Now you will get a chance to win some Krazy Glue for yourself! There are two types in this prize and 3 winners will get one of each!

Maximum Bond Krazy Glue® 20g Gel – Maximum Bond Formula provides an extra strength and durable shock-resistant bond. Our no-run Gel Formula allows for gluing vertical surfaces without a drippy mess and also allows for gluing two mismatched surfaces. It works best on porous materials like ceramic or pottery. The extended tip makes it easy to get into tight spaces.

In order to win today’s prize, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post below telling us:

How would you use Krazy Glue to celebrate America Recycles Day?

Thank you to all who participated in out giveaway and, more importantly, America Recycles Day! The winners are… Patricia M – I am always fixing and rehabing items! I could use this in so many ways!

Jennifer – I have 4 toddlers in the house so there is always a few things on my “going to fix” shelf. This would go a long way in helping me!

Kyle – I have started using it for several jewelry projects. Love It!!

OFFICIAL RULES FOR CONTEST

There is a maximum of one entry per person. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied.

Winner will be selected at random from the comments on this blog post below.

Winner will be announced here on the blog tomorrow as well as contacted by the email address provided.

You have until tonight, November 18th, 2014 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on this post. Comments posted after that will not be counted.

We are beyond excited to be a part of the Craft Your Stash blog tour! What is “Craft Your Stash” you ask? Well, let me tell you! It’s an amazing new book by our good friend Lisa Fulmer! We have loved working with Lisa over the years and seeing her publish her first crafting book is simply amazing.

Raise your hand if you’ve got a closet full of craft supplies! Yes, we are right there with you all – and so is this book. Learn how to transform all of your craft closet treasures into gifts, home decor, and more right alongside Lisa Fulmer. Try new techniques and experiment with crafting styles you’ve never tried before. We loved turning each page in the this book and discovering new and exciting crafts on each page. Plus, she teaches us all how to organize our stash right from the start and we couldn’t think of a better way to clear our minds and get ready to craft. (You should see our craft storage here at the office…it’s….special). I’m seeing some great crafty days at the office in the near future with all of these new ideas!

Mod Podge ® Collage Clay is a lightweight whipped clay available in 2 colors, Pink & White. This clay is used to embed decorated Mod Mold embellishments to create fresh and fun projects. Collage Clay is available at Michaels Stores.

What would you make with Collage Clay?

Thank you all for participating in our giveaway! Congratulations to Su K. who answered “The samples are absolutely gorgeous, I would so love to have these products and craft my heart out. Love the way it pops. And so many mold available. Thank you for the chance to win and explore.” Have fun exploring and enjoy!

OFFICIAL RULES FOR CONTEST

There is a maximum of one entry per person. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied.

You must “like” both the FaveCrafts and the Plaid Facebook pages to be eligible.

Winner will be selected at random from the comments on this blog post below.

Winner will be announced here on the blog tomorrow as well as contacted by the email address provided.

You have until September 30th, 2014 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on this post. Comments posted after that will not be counted.

Announcement time! We will be hosting a Twitter party Thursday September 25th at 9pm EST! We’d love to see you all there participating in the chat about the exciting Collage Clay from Plaid! Collage Clay is available at Michaels Stores.Cathie & Steve from Plaid will be joining us to answer all of your pressing questions about this amazing clay. They’ll be offering tips and tricks to make your Decoden projects superb. Plus, don’t miss out on a chance to win prizes!

Remember I told you there would be giveaways? Well there will be! All you have to do to win a prize is send out one tweet with the hashtag #craftychat and you are automatically entered! Of course, the more you join in on the conversation, the more chances you have of winning! Contest ends September 25th 9pm EST. Winners will be announced at the end of the chat.

I am proud to be a 3M- sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate new products from ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape. Opinions are my own and additional products used in the project were selected by me.

Summer is finally here! I’m so glad because summer means sunny summer trends. And one of my favorite trends is the Aztec print. I wanted to create a summer project that would capture the essence of this summery style and create a bold and exciting piece. I was inspired by so many colors and styles of the Aztec print – it was hard to know what I wanted to do at first! I’m excited to present you with my Aztec Planter project as part of this year’s blog-hop hosted by Kate at Centsational Girl. Be sure to check out the other fabulous projects here: Get It, Got It, Go

To me, summer means gorgeous flowers and the orange glow of a summertime evening. So it just makes sense to design a planter to celebrate!

I started with a terracotta plastic planter found at Home Depot. I had so much fun finding all of my supplies at Home Depot, I ended up closing the store (oops!). It’s okay though, because the people there were super helpful!

I actually bought a small planter too to test the paint and design. For an extra couple of bucks, this is a great idea if you decide to try my project.

First things first. I needed to plan out my design. So I grabbed some paper and a pencil and got to work.

I wanted to keep some of the terracotta color shining through the design to give it that authentic Aztec look. So I taped off the top rim of the planter. Since the surface is rounded, I cut strips of the tape to get a clean line all the way across.

Then I spray painted the pot with a white primer to prep it for the other paint. I let this dry overnight (though longer would be better).

After mulling over my design plans, I decided simple was best. I chose a main motif to be painted on both sides of the pot.

I started by marking off the edges of the middle square. I eyeballed it, but you can measure this step if you want.

I painted the middle diamond pink. I found that it was best to let the paint dry a little before peeling off the tape. The next step was to paint the surrounding diamond in my favorite mint green.

Taping out the rest of the design was easy from here. The step-like shapes on the edge of the diamond really pulled together the Aztec look.

To make the planter really pop, I finished it off with the berry pink on the top rim and bottom rim.

Then I painted the rest of the planter this lovely peach and the top lip of the planter with the mint green.

Peeling off the tape on the top rim was so exciting! I loved seeing that “natural” terracotta color again. It was raining when I took this completed photo, but I think it’s just perfect how this planter can brighten up a rainy morning.

Want to try this project yourself?

Enter to win a $50 Home Depot eGift Card to buy all the supplies you’ll need!

Winner will be selected at random from the comments on this blog post below.

Winner will be announced here on the blog as well as contacted by the email address provided.

You have until June 26, 2014 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on this post. Comments posted after that will not be counted.

Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.

Thank you all so much for participating! The winner of this giveaway is Colleen B. who answered “I sure could use the tape ’cause my garden shed could use a good paint job and the tape would sure come in handy. Thank you for this wonderful giveaway opportunity.” Congratulations Colleen!

When I sat down to reviewSimply Modern Christmas: Fresh Quilting Patterns for the Holidays, I was expecting 80 pages of red and green quilts. Instead, I was greeted by page after page of sewing projects that would look just as great in June as they would in December. The author, Cindy Lammon, is a designer and blogger known for her floral patterns. With the 14 tutorials in this book, Lammon balances tradition and innovation by using basic shapes and bold fabric. Geometric shapes allow each pattern to pop. Plus, they are easier for beginner and intermediate sewists to piece together. I decided to pull together some stand-out projects that rely on the beauty of simple shapes. Whether they use circles, squares, triangles, or a combination of all three, these projects are chic and summery.

Enter for your chance to win a copy of Simply Modern Christmas: Fresh Quilting Patterns for the Holidays, a book of patterns for quilts, table toppers, stockings, and more. Great for beginners and intermediate sewists alike, these patterns are universal, so a simple fabric swap makes them appropriate for any season. Read our full review here, and enter the giveaway here.

Full Project Tutorials

Today’s project comes from FaveQuilts.com, so whether you love quilting or you’ve always wanted to try it, this is the perfect project to get you working with fabric! The Daisy Star Nine Patch Quilt is a beautiful quilt that’s big enough to cover a twin-size bed. Make it for a guest room or as a […]